In the summer of 2003, the GUIGAL Estate, always determined to improve its knowledge of wine and everything related, launched into a completely new adventure: barrel-making. This artisan craft of our ancestors allows the Estate to master an additional skill in the charm of an historical setting.
In the ancient outbuildings dating back to the 15th and 17th centuries, the cooper crafts, assembles and toasts traditional barrels destined for the ageing of the great wines of the Rhône.
The cooper works full time in the Cooperage of the Château d’Ampuis and makes 18 barrels a week on average in order to fulfill a yearly requirement of around 800 new barrels. In total, the GUIGAL cellars house around 5000 barrels.
Never dominant, oak reveals the true authenticity of a wine with profound respect for its balance, origins and vintage. Day after day the wine becomes more refined, expressive and full-bodied in the barrel. It waits patiently, sometimes for up to 4 years, for the right moment to be captured and bottled.
Since 1961, the GUIGAL Estate has never ceased learning in order to ensure it masters the lengthy ageing process of its wines in oak barrels. Each of the best wines of the cellars is aged in new oak barrels only. These traditional methods in the Côte-Rôtie confer a unique status on the GUIGAL Estate as its top wines can be aged for up to four years in oak before bottling.